Spindle reel



Aug. Z7, @35

SPINDLE REEL l Filed Feb. 7, 1954 F. M. LITTELL.

5 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 2, K3.. F. M. LHTTELL 2,012,452

SPINDLE REEL Filed Feb. 7, 1954 5 sheets-sheet 2 -v-u A i; 67 with@ J0Patented Aug. 27, 1935 l SPINDLE REEL Frederick M. Littell, Chicago,Ill., assigner to F. J. Littell Machine Company, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application February 7, 1934, Serial No. 710,071

Claims.

holding the reel against movement to permit a coil of stock to be placedupon the reel. Difliculty has been encountered in loading reels as thecoils of stock are heavy and of a shape making it a difficult task tolift them from the floor and place on the reel.

Another object of the invention is to provid means which will overcomethe above d ifculties and make the placing of heavy coils on the reelcomparatively easy,` requiring less effort and which will cut theloading time consider A more specific object is to provide loading b-arwhich can be easily attach arm of the reel for lifting a coil of stockably.

a novel ed to an and sliding the same in place on the supporting arms.

A further object is to provide means for retaining the coil of stock onits supporting arms in the form of keepers of improved construe tion andwhich can be readily attached to an arm and easily removed althoughhaving a firm grip for ator.

With these and various other objects in view,

the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction andoperation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed outin the specification, drawing and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the device and whereinlike reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure 1 isan elevational view of a reel constructedin accordance with the presentinvention, the supporting and operating means for the arms being shownin section;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the reel of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational viewshowing the loading bar in attachedrelation to the reel for lifting a coil of stock and sliding the same onthe arms;

hub showing the spindle lock;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan View of Figure 4 is a fragmentarysectional view of the `the support for the spindle showing in sectiondetails of the lock for locking the operating mechanism for thesupporting arms;

Figure 6 is a plan View, parts being shown in section, of the bifurcatedend of the loading bar;

Figure 7 is a side elevational view of the bar shown in Figure 6; l

Figure 8 is a plan view, parts being shown in section, of a keeperhaving yieldable means for quick attachment toand removal from its arm;

Figure 9 is an elevational view of the keeper shown in Figure 8; 1 Y

Figures 10 and 11 are plan and elevational views, respectively, of amodified construction of keeper; and

.l Figures 12 and 13 are plan and elevational views, respectively, ofstill another form of keeper employing a spring pressed lever forsecurely holding the keeper toits arm while providing for quickattachment and removal.

The invention comprises, as shown in Figure 1, a base IB of fairly largediameter having mounted therein a standard II vertically adjustable withrespect to the `base by means of the securing screws I2. At its upperend the standard supports a knuckle I3 which is provided with aplurality of notches, not shown, and positioned concentric with theshaft I4 and for cooperation with similar notches on the supportingknuckle I5. By engagement of the notches-on the respective knuckles thesame can be held in definite rotated position with respect to each otherthrough tightening of the nut on shaft I4. As shown in Figure 1 knuckleI5 is held in position where the spindle` on the reel is horizontal andby reason of the structure described above it will be understood thatthe spindle can be held in any adjusted position from horizontal tovertical where the shoulder I6 will engage with the abutment I'I tolimit further movement. i i

The axle of the reel proper includes a projecting supporting shaft I8suitably secured to the knuckle I5 and having rotatably mounted thereonthe hub 20. Ball bearing races 2| positioned onthe shaft and havingengagement with the hub serve to frictionlessly mount the hub on theshaft. The hub is held on the supporting shaft by the nut 22 threaded tothe outer end of the shaft and which connes the coil spring 23 betweenthe nut and a collar 24 associated with the hubwhereby the spring actsto force the collar toward the hub and provides a brake or retardingmeans to prevent overrun ofthe reel. The tension exerted by the springand therefore the braking force applied by the spring is adjustableiis:-

through rotation of nut 22 to vary its position axially of the shaft. l

Projecting radially from hub 2l! are a plurality of rods or supportingmembers 25 suitably threaded to the hub and which support the rightangled arms designated in their entirety by 26. Spaced lugs 2l and 28project from one leg of each of the arms 2t, the upper lug receiving theuppermost end of the rod, while the lower lug is threaded to anelongated screw 3B rotatably mounted on the rod. Each arm is heldagainst rotation on its rod 25 but has movement along the lengt-h of therod through rotation of the elongated screw 3Q. Each screw hasintegrally formed at its lower end a pinion 3l which y is rotatedsimultaneously with the other pinions to cause movement of the arms ontheir respective rods, the direction of movement of the arms beingdetermined by the direction of rotation of the pinion and its integralelongated screw. From the foregoing it will be understood that thesupporting arms 26, four of which are generally employed in a reel, havemovement toward the hub 2U or outwardly away from the hub, dependingupon the particular direction of rotation given to the pinions. As shownin Figure l each supporting arm 263 has adjustably tted thereto aretaining member or keeper 32 for holding a coil of stock in position onthe horizontal supporting arms. The operating means forimparting'simultaneous rotation to the pinions 2i includes a bevelledgear ,33 mounted for rotation on hub 2i! and having meshing engagementwith the pinions. A disc 34 is non-rotatably secured to the end of thehub to'retain gear y33 on the hub and preventoutward movement thereof.

For locking the gear against rotation'spaced notches 35 are provided,Figures 2 and 3, on the side of the gear opposite the gear teeth andwhich are adapted to receive the locking pin 35S. As shown'in Figure 5the' pin is mounted for axial movement within a bore 3l formed inknuckle l5 and is actuated by lever 38 from a position where the gear isheld against movement to a position where the gear is free. The springpressed ball it engages within notches 4i in the pin to definitely holdthe pin located within one of the notches 35 or in retracted positionwhere the gear is free to rotate with the hub. This locking of the pinis desirable as shaking or vibration of the shaft might cause the pin towork into one of the notches on the gear to inadvertently lock the sameand cause actuation of the arms. With the gear locked against rotationit willbe seen that any rotation of the hub 2t and thus rotation of theradial arms 25 will cause rotation of the pinions 3| and thus movementof the arms ina direction radially to engage with a coil of stock. Thereel is therefore rotated by the operator to cause outward or inwardmovement of the arms in a manner similar to rotating a capstan, therebygreatly increasing the leverage obtained, and facilitating the accuratecentering of heavy coils of stock.

To position a coil of stock upon the supporting arms the same arelocated in their centerrnost position where the distance from the shaftI8 to one of the arms forms a circle of less diameter than the interiordiameter of the coil. Withthe arms-in this position a coil of vstock isplaced on the arms and rotation is then given to the reel to causeoutward travel of the arms and since they all move outwardly in unisonit will be seen that the coil is supported in concentric position withrelation to shaft I8. To permit the coil to unwind from the reel for thepurposes of feeding the same to punch presses and like machinery it isnecessary to allow the reel and the gear 33 to rotate together, which ispermitted by retraction of locking pin 35.

The invention provides a loading bar to facilitate the loadingvof heavycoils on the reel. For the purpose each arm 26 is provided. with anopening 42 and a loading bar t3, Figure 3, is attached to the upper armafter the reel has been locked against rotation by the spindle lock tobe presently described. As shown in Figure 6 the end 44 of the loadingbar is bifurcated to form spaced arms on which are formed inwardlydirected portions 45 continuing downwardly to form a, yoke l which joinsthe ends of the bifurcated arms, thereby strengthening its endstructure. One Yof the portions t5 is apertured the entire length of thesame, while the other portion is apertured for a part of its length forreceiving the locking bolt 6l having the knurled end Sand being providedwith a central bore 59. The coil spring 5ir is held Within the bore by apin forming one element of a pin and slot connection by Which thelocking bolt is held in its portion 15. Any outward movement of the bolttakes place against the tension of spring 5i and immediately uponrelease the pin returns to its position as shown in Figure 6. Forattaching the loading bar to a supporting armthe bolt is retracted andreleased after the same has been aligned with the opening Q2 on the arm.With thestructure of Figure 6 it is impossible to inadvertently detachthe bar from its supporting arm and this is considered an important anddesirable feature as considerable damage to kthe reel as well as shockand jar to the operator would result if lthe bar .became detached fromthe reel during lifting of the coil or sliding th coil on the bar.

The operation of loading the reel by using the loading bar consists ininserting the bar through the .hole in the coil of stock i9 andattaching the same to the upper supporting arm. The end held by theoperator is now lifted and the coil assumes a'position such as shown inFigure 3 in which it cradles on the bar by reason of the angular bend`52 formed centrally of the bar. Continued lifting by the operator willcause the coil to slide on the bar and come to rest on the supportingarms.` The bar is now removed and the reel is rotated while gear 33 isheld locked to cause outward movement of the arms and centering of thecoil. .Keepers S2 are replaced on the arms and the reel is loaded readyfor use.

For locking the reel to the shaftk it' to prevent turning of the reelduring loading as above described the collar 2t is non-rotatably mountedon shaft l and is provided with a locking pin 53 adapted to engagewithin notches 54 formed in the end of the rotatable hub 2Q. As thecollar is held against rotation on the-shaft, the hub 2E) andthus thereel is held against rotation. The outward end of pin 53 is providedwith a knurled knob 55 and has the grooves 5t formed intermediate itslength for cooperating with the spring pressed ball 5l to position thepin so that it will remain either retracted or in extended positionwhere the same is located in one of the notches 54. A friction washer 58is interposed between the end of hub 2t and collar ZA, which althoughnonrotatably held to shaft lil, has axial movement on the shaft. Thecollar in conjunction with the coil spring 23 whichforces the collarinto contact with base of the keeper is provided with one lug 8|,

the friction washer and the washer into engagement with the hub acts asa brake to prevent p overrun of the reel when in use. This overrun iscaused by intermittent pulling of the stock on the reel and each jerk orpull would otherwise cause rotation of the reel toa degree where theouter loops of the coil would become too loose and interfere with theradial rods 25 or the keepers 32.

The invention in addition to the brake for the reel provides a stocksupport in the form of a universally supported arm lill preferably ofright angle shape and having one leg supported from the base and itsother leg disposed under the reel to support the outermost loop- Asshown in Figure 2, block El suitably secured to the base, journals astud shaft 62 which can be held in ther desired rotated position byadjustment of the securing nut 63. The projecting end of shaft 62carries a block 6ft in which is adjustably secured the stock supporttitl.` As an optional arrangement the invention provides means forresiliently biasing the free end of the arm upwardly since it isdesirable where the coils of stock are' heavy to have the supporttherefor flexibly mounted.

` The outer end of the arm is loosely supported by block 64 and hasxedly secured thereto a member 'l0 which engages with the coil spring llconfining the same between the member and the base of the reel l0. Thebase may be 'suitably recessed to properly position the coil springwhile the member may be provided with a dowel pin for holding the springin associatedposition with the member. In order that the tension exertedby the coil spring may be adjusted for heavy and light stock the memberlil is xedly secured to the end of the arm i in adjusted positionthrough means of the set screw l2. By varying the position of the member'lll with respect to the free end of the arm 6l) the stock support canbe biased upwardly with a force sufficient to hold the outermost loopsof heavy coil stock as well as the lighter grades of stock.

A keeper plate 65 is suitably secured to knuckle l and provides a hook69 which in connection with the cup 6l supported on base lil forms aholder for the loading bar d3 as `shown in Figure 3. When not in use theloading bar is supported in this manner and is at all times convenientlyassociated with the reel and in posiv tion for ready use.

The keeper plate is preferably formed of Octagonal shape with certainedges being providedwith key-way slots E33 for receiving the keepers 32.As the keepers are removed prior to loading the reel they are droppedinto the slots 68 which holds them conveniently locatedk during theloading operation. The retaining member or keeper S2, Figure 1, employedfor holding the coil of stock in position on the horizontal supportingrarms may embody the improvements shown in Figures 8 and 9, in which oneof the spaced lugs 'l5 formed integral with the base of the keeper isenlarged as shown at 76 and provided with a bore having a restricted endfor receiving and. retaining within the bore a metal ball 'il which isyieldingly biased in a direction toward lug 15 by the coil spring 18confined within the bore by the set screw 8i). The metal ball 'il islocated under `the edge of the arm 26 to detachably lock the keeper tothe arm. Easy removal is possible, however, as it is only necessary tocant the side having the' enlarged lug to cause depression of the metalball and release of the keeper.

In the modification of Figures 10 and 11 the the side of the baseopposite thereto terminating substantially flush with the side of thekeeper and being notched for receiving the strip 82 of resilient metalwhich is secured to the member by means of the block 83 and securingscrew 84. The free end of the'metal strip is curved as at to form aretaining shoulder for attaching and holding the keeper on itssupporting arm. Easy attachment and removal of the keeper is possibledue'to the resiliency of the metal strip.

In the larger size of keeper it is preferred to provide the same with apivoted lever which makes for a more positive construction. This form isshown in Figures 12 and 13 in which the base of the keeper is providedon one side with an integral lug 86 of the usual construction and on theside opposite thereto with spaced members 81. Portions 88 integral withthe member extend rearwardly to provide journals for the lever 90 heldin place by the pivot pin Sl. Between the web of the keeper and thelever is located the coil spring 92 to yieldingly bias said end of thelever outwardly, thus forcing the opposite end having lug 93 in adirection toward its companion lug 85. With the parts shown in Figure l2the keeper is securely held to the arm 2B, being locked thereto as theretaining portions of the respective lugs are located under the topflange of the arm. This form of construction requires positive actuationof the lever d@ before the keeper can be attached or removed from itssupport. s

It is to be understood that I do'not wish to be limited by the exactembodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustrationand` not limitation, as various and other forms of the device will ofcourse be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim: l

1. A spindle reel, including in combination, a supporting standard, ashaft supported at the upper end of said standard, a hub rotatablymounted on said shaft and having members projecting radially therefrom,a supporting arm associated with each of said radial members, a lockingmember carried by said shaft and adapted to engage the hub to lock thehub against rotation, and resilient means also carried by said shaft andpositioned to the outside of the member, said resilient means forcingsaid member into engagement with the hub to provide a friction brake forthe hub.

l 2. A spindle reel, including in combination, a supporting standard, ashaft supported at the upper end of said standard, a hub rotatablymounted on said shaft and having members projecting radially therefrom,a' supporting arm associated with each of said radial members, a collarnon-rotatably secured to said shaft, and a locking pin carried by saidcollar and adapted to engage in notches in the hub to lock the hubagainst rotation. l

3. A spindle reel, including in combination, a. supporting standard, ashaft supported at the upper end of said standard, a hub `rotatablymounted on said shaft and having members projecting radially therefrom,a supporting arm associated with each of said radial members, a collarnon-rotatably secured to said shaft but `having axial movement thereon,said collar being positioned adjacent the end of said hub and mounting alocking pin adapted to engage in notches in said hub to lock the hubagainst rotation, a

friction washerV interposed between the collar and said hub, andresilient means carried on the end of said shaft for yieldinglyforcingthe collar into engagement with said washer and the washer intoengagement with said hub thereby providing a friction brake for saidhub.

4. A reel of the character described including in combination, asupporting standard, a shaft pivotally supported at the upper end ofsaid standard, means for locking the shaft in desired rotated positionwith respect to the standard, a reel rotatably mounted on said shaft andadapted to support a coil of stock, means for looking thereel to theshaft preventing rotation thereof, said means including a collarnon-rotatably secured to the shaft but having axial movement thereon,and resilient means yieldingly forcing the collar into frictionalengagement with said reel to provide a friction brake for said reel.

5. A spindle type reel, including in combination, a supporting standard,a shaft projecting from the upper end of said standard, a reeljournalled for rotation on said shaft and including radial arms, asupporting member mounted on each of said arms, and means for placing acoil of stock on said arms to be supported thereby, including a loadingbar having detachable securement to one of said arms, and a lock forholding the reel against rotation.

6. A spindle type reel of the character described including incombination, a supporting standard, a shaft projecting from the upperend of said standard, a reel journalled for rotation on said shaft andincluding radial arms, a supporting member mounted for movement on eachof said arms, and means for placing al coil of stock on said arms to besupported thereby, said means including a lock for holding the reelagainst rotation, and a loading bar having detachable securement to theuppermost of said arms whereby a coil of stock placed on said bar canbe' lifted by upward movement of the bar and slid into place on saidarms.

7. A reel of the character described, including in combination, asupporting standard, a shaft projecting from the upper end of saidstandard, a reel journalled for rotation on said shaft and including aplurality of radial arms, supporting members movably mounted on each ofsaid arms for supporting a coil of stock, locking kmeans for locking thereel against rotation, a loading bar adapted tofhave detachablesecurement to one of said arms, said means locking the' reel to saidshaft and said loading bar having pivotal movement in a vertical planewith respect to its supporting arm for loading said reel with a coil ofstock. Y

8. A spindle reel including in combination, a supporting standard, ashaft supported by said standard, a hub rotatably mounted on said shaftand having members projecting radially therefrom, supporting armsmounted for movement on each member for supporting a coil of stock onthe shaft, keepers carried by said supporting arms for retaining thecoil of stock thereon, and a keeper plate supported by said standard andhaving openings provided therein for receiving said keepers, wherebysaid keepers when removed from their supporting arm may be supported bythe keeper plate.

9. Asp-indie reel including in combination, a supporting standard, aknuckle supported on said standard, a shaft projecting from saidknuckle, a hub rotatably mounted on said shaft and having membersprojecting radially therefrom, supporting arms mounted for movement oneach member for supporting a coil of stock on the shaft, means includinga loading bar for loading said reel with a coil of stock, and a keeperplate secured to said knuckle and provided with a hook portion iorreleasably engaging the loading bar to hold the same upright and inassociated relation with the reel when not in use, said bar when inupright position resting on the base of the. reel.

10. The combination with a reel having a plurality of supporting armsfor supporting a coil of stock thereon, of a loading bar, said barhaving releasable means on one end thereof for de,- tachably securingthe bar to one of said support-- ing arms, whereby a coil of stockcarried by said bar can be placed on the supporting arms by upwardpivotal movement of the free end of said bar.

1l. In a reel having a plurality of supporting arms for carrying a coilof stock, in combination, keepers for attachment to each of said arms toretain the coil on the arms, each keeper having a base provided withspaced engaging lugs, one of said lugs being resilient to removablysecure the keeper in place on the arm.

l2. In a reel having a plurality of supporting arms for carrying a coilof stock, in combination, keepers for attachment to each of said arms toretain the coil on the arms, each keeper having a base provided withspaced arm engaging lugs, one of said lugs being integral with the baseand said other lug being resilient, whereby said keeper is securely heldin place on the arm and is readily attached or removed therefrom.

13. In a keeper member, in combination, a body portion having a base, alug integral with the base and depending from one side thereof,bifurcated means depending from the side of the base opposite theretoand positioning a second lug for cooperation with said iirst mentionedlug, said second lug being resiliently biased toward said fhst mentionedlug for attaching the member to a support.

14;. In a keeper member, in combination, a body po-rtion having a base,a lug integral with the base and depending from one side thereof,bifurcated means depending from the side of the base opposite theretoand positioning a second lug for cooperation with said first mentionedlug, said second mentioned lug being pivotally secured to the bifurcatedmeans and being resiliently biased in a direction tow-ard said firstmentioned lug whereby said member may be securely held to a supportwhile being readily attached or removed therefrom.

l5. A reel of the character described including in combination, asupporting standard, a hub having members projecting radially therefrom,a shaft supported by the standard and journalling said hub, a supportingarm movably mounted on each of said radial membersa gear wheel forcausing movement of said arms simultaneously, said wheel being providedwith notches on the face opposite the gear teeth, a locking pin mountedon the standard for movement longitudinally thereof in a horizontalplane, said pin when extended being located in the notches to lock thegear wheel against rotation, whereby rotation of the hub will causemovement of the supporting arms on their members, and datent means forholding the pin in extended or retracted position.

FREDERCK M. LITTELL.

